color poor people and young people from one end of our country to the other. >> watch our issues spotlight on voting rights saturday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span and c-span.org. the smithsonian's national air and space museum in washington, d.c. celebrated its 40th anniversary july 1st. american history tv was there as the museum marked the occasion, and next we'll show you owl three hours of our coverage. you'll hear from the museum's director, general jack dailey as well as air and space historians as we tour some of the one of the kind artifacts in the museum's collection. we'll also show you the museum's signature event celebrating the anniversary.

♪ >> aviation is america's story. we went from the first power controlled man flight to walking on the moon 66 years. >> the air and space museum shows you exactly that history. >> everything that we have as a special significance to the development of aviation and space in this country. >> i came and saw this aircraft. i remember it so well. as a small boy. my father explaining to me what it was with the first airplane. to ever fly. >> here we are in the same room with the planes the wright brothers flew. >> one of the main perpetrator is to preserve the artifacts forever. >> sure you can have

reproductions or mock-ups, but here you have the real thing. >> it did it first or better than anybody else. >> you have to stop a little bit and think about the story as you view the object. >> i always find something marvelous, something that completely surprises me. the discovery space shuttle is so significant. and it is so quintessential smithsonian. this is the shuttle that has inspired a generation to realize the importance of space flight. >> our mission is to commemorate, educate and inspire. >> it's wonderful to see the young people come in here and be inspired by things that have happened before and maybe be inspired to do a little better in math and science and technology and their school work. >> so important for young people to really get a good education in stem. they see what has been accomplished in the past, and then they think about well, what

can i do? >> it really changed my life. it changed my direction. it helped orient me along the path of becoming a scientist. who knows what you will be inspired to be the next person on mars. >> the space exploration should continue. >> the smithsonian national air and space museum is more than just the collection here on the mall. it's inspiration. >> we can inspire, then we have done everything else right. [ applause ] ♪ ♪

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♪ [ applause ] good evening, ladies and gentlemen, i'm jack dailey, the john and adrienne mars director of the smithsonian national air and space museum. and it's my honor to welcome you here tonight as we commemorate 40 years of inspiring the world and celebrate a new chapter for the world's most popular museum. for kicking us off with a high style tonight, i'd like to thank the united states air force band ceremonial brass quintet. please give them a round of applause. [ applause ]

the air force band serenades here frequently during the summer. so if you watch the schedule, you can hear the entire program among your friends here at the museum. when the museum first opened in july 1st, 1976, president ford called it a perfect birthday present from the american people to themselves. and we often say that aviation is america's story. but the revolution in the skies sparked by the wright brothers more than a century ago belongs to the world. the astronauts who saw the earth from the moon only 66 years after the first flight at kitty hawk had a special perspective on the global impact of that first small step. the director who oversaw this museum's construction and stood on these very steps to open the doors 40 years ago was none other than major general michael collins, united states air force retired.

command module pilot for apollo 11. here to tell us more about our early days, i'd like to introduce a short video featuring general collins. >> i came to washington sneaking up on 1976, and i used to run around town saying "museum on the mall by the bicentennial." my name is mike collins. at one time was in the space program on project gemini and apollo, which you know is the first flight to the moon. after that i was lucky enough to be director of this museum, the national air and space museum. so many of the things in it, the artifacts in it are old friends of mine. and some of them way before my time. we were supposed to open july 4th, 1976. and we actually beat it by three

days, july 1st, 1976. we were supposed to cut the ribbon out here, the ribbon on the mall side of the building declaring it open. the signal came from a spacecraft between here and mars and outer space. i was holding my breath, thinking all those electrons gone lost up there in space. and all these vips standing around looking at this ribbon and this mechanical shearing device and nothing would happen. but believe it or not, all the electrons did their cute little things and the ribbon got snipped and the building got opened. it was good. at the peak of the apollo program when neil armstrong stepped out on to the surface of the moon, that i think was kind of the peak of the interest that the american public had.

buildings like this do a lot to sustain that level of interest. and that's one of the things that i think is very important about this beautiful surrounding, the national air and space museum, which is a vital part of the smithsonian institution. [ applause ] >> the museum general collins built, like the ship he flew to the moon, a priceless treasure to the people of the world. and i'm honored to follow in his footsteps as director. as he mentioned, there was tension about whether the signal from mars would come in time to cut the ribbon. just in case, the president of the united states was on hand with a pair of scissors as a backup. but viking performed flawlessly. just days later, the viking i lander became the first american spacecraft to land on mars. in 1984, after its mission was complete, nasa formally

transferred the ownership of viking i lander to the museum. of course we haven't been able to collect it yet. so nasa, working with the jet propulsion lab and the university of arizona was kind enough to check in on it for us. and this picture was taken by the high-rise camera aboard the mars reconnaissance orbiter to celebrate the museum's 40th birthday. it demonstrates the challenge ahead, and we have unfinished business on mars. and it's up to the men and women of this museum to inspire the next generation to take up the task. it would be impossible to recognize all the staff of volunteers who have performed the museum's mission over the decades. but we are honored to have ten of them with us here tonight who have been here as part of the team since the very beginning, 40 years ago. as i call your name, please stand. phil edwards. [ applause ] karen manus.

[ applause ] i'm glad i didn't ask you to hold your applause. this is much better than waiting until the end. okay. ted maxwell. [ applause ] barbara o'malley. [ applause ] bill rowe. [ applause ] chris strain [ applause ] mark taylor. [ applause ] bob vanderlinden. [ applause ] estelle washington. [ applause ] and ken young. [ applause ] together they have dedicated

more than 400 years to this museum in its hundreds of millions of visitors, and are the perfect representatives of our committed staff, present, path, and future. please give them now, please give them a round of applause for their extraordinary service. [ applause ] the national air and space museum is just one part of the smithsonian institution. it is the centerpiece, but it's just one part of the smithsonian. which includes 19 and soon to be 20 museums, 9 research centers and extensive global outreach activities. we wouldn't be able to fulfill our mission at the museum without james smithson's mandate for the increase and diffusion of knowledge which has guided the smithsonian for almost 170 years. our next feature arrive at the smithsonian in 1976 for the nation's bicentennial celebration. for many years he directed the

center for folk life and cultural heritage. so if you enjoyed the smithsonian's folk life festival out on the mall today, you have him to thank. now he oversees all of the institution's museums and research centers, and a list of other centers and programs and activities too numerous to list, to list. it's my great pleasure to introduce the acting provost and undersecretary for museums and research, dr. richard curran. richard? [ applause ] >> thank you. >> thank you, jack. as general dailey said, i was -- i first worked for the smithsonian. i was young then. i was 25 years old and first worked for the smithsonian when this museum opened. this -- during that time we were celebrating the bicentennial of the united states. 200 years of our country.

and just remember what it was like then. now younger people will not. but those of a certain age will. we were in a space race with the russians, with the soviets. there was a cold war going on. and the whole challenge to go to space, when president kennedy just over here in front of the capitol at his inauguration challenged the country to send a man to the moon and back before the end of the decade, that was fresh in our minds. and so when we went to space and when this museum was built, it was really a monument to our country in terms of our science, technology, and engineering. the kind of innovation that made us great and historically has made us great as a country. but it was even more than that. and if you were here 40 years ago when this museum opened, you

recognized at that time just as those who are old enough to remember when neil armstrong set foot on the moon, that this was a victory not only of science and engineering technology, but national unity, national imagination. we were all very much together as americans at that time and very proud of our national accomplishment. now this museum has continued to inspire, as jack said, millions and millions. over 350 million people have walked through this museum. they've worn out the carpet many times. but generation after generation has been inspired with what they've seen and looked up. and many a child walked through this museum and said i want to be an astronaut or an astrophysicist, or i want to be a pilot, or i want to be the person that makes these things happen and designs these airplanes and spaceships.

and so this has really been an inspirational place for our country, for our citizens, and people around the world who have been here. now, jack is michael collins' successor, right? down a few steps, who built this museum. and that's something jack and i shared. because after mike collins was the director of this museum, he became the undersecretary of the smithsonian. and i'm very proud to occupy that office today. and as i often say, mike collins had to go to the moon and back to do all this. all i have to do is walk up a flight of stairs. but it makes me ever so proud to be part of this effort, part of the museum, part of the smithsonian that really serves all of you, all of us and people beyond. we take very seriously the idea of our mission of increasing and diffusing knowledge of inspiring the next generation.

it's a great responsibility we share. and tonight we are so, so happy to celebrate this birthday. and you have not only the people here, but we're joined by others who have special birthday greetings. ♪ >> happy birthday. >> happy birthday. happy birthday. >> happy birthday. >> happy birthday. >> happy birthday. >> happy birthday. >> happy 40th birthday. >> happy 40th birthday. >> happy 40th birthday. >> thank you for inspiring me and my fellow astronauts. >> congratulations. >> congratulations. >> congratulations on 40 years of excellence. >> keep inspiring those generations of future space explorers, to aim high and reach for the stars. >> congratulations to the national air and space museum on -- >> 40 fabulous years. ♪ happy birthday

>> to the national air and space museum. >> nasa wishes you many more decades of inspiring the next generation to reach higher and to explore. >> keep empowering those kids to live their dreams. >> happy birthday, national air and space museum. [ applause ] >> over the last 40 years we've opened many new galleries and exhibitions, including the state-of-the-art steven f. udvar-hazy center in chantilly, virginia. but the heart of the museum has always been our central exhibit space, now called the boeing milestones of flight hall. more than 327 million people have passed through the doors behind me into one of the world's great public spaces dedicated to discovery and exploration. as we transform the gallery for the next 300 million visitors, we work to interpret the priceless treasures of human achievement, not merely display them.

the new exhibits capture the spark behind the milestone stories and fire the imagination like never before. according to a recent study, the world needs more than a million pilots and aviation technicians to meet the goal of demand over the next 20 years. that kind of growth requires investment on a global scale, and there is no better place to engage the young people of the world than the boeing milestones of flight hall. i'd like to thank boeing for supporting our mission and to inspire the millions who will pass through these doors in the years ahead. it's now my great pleasure to welcome greta lundberg, the vice president for strategy and advocacy at boeing. greta? [ applause ] >> thank you so much. thank you, general dailey for your service to our country and for your leadership of this great american institution. i'm greta lundeberg, vice

president for strategy and advocacy at the boeing company. and it's an honor to be here with you tonight to celebrate the boeing milestone of flight hall during our centennial year as well as this museum's 40th anniversary. and also my birthday. so it's a special night for me as well. [ applause ] >> thanks. as a mother of a 4-year-old, my daughter talks a lot about what she wants to be when she grows up. some weeks it's a firefighter. other weeks it's batman or wonder woman. but after countless visits to the air and space museum, all she talks about now is wanting to be an astronaut. while her career options may evolve, i know she'll never lose that fascination with space and science and innovation, and that's a testament to the stories and experiences this place unlocks for its millions of visitors each year. that's the reason that boeing has supported the national air and space museum for more than two decades.

we agree with the museum that our goals should be inspiring the next generation of innovators and building on the progress of the last century. now this july 15th, 100 years ago, our founder bill boeing got his start in a little red barn in seattle. building planes made almost entirely of timber and canvas. over the past century, the men and women of boeing have helped build the world's largest aerospace company and shaped the course of human history along the way. just think about the progress that we've made together. humans went from walking on earth to walking on the moon. from riding horses to flying jet planes and spacecraft. and while we celebrate the pioneers that built this incredible legacy of american innovation, it's more important than ever for our country to inspire a new generation of

leaders, to dream, to innovate, to explore, and to inspire. as you make your way through the galleries tonight i would ask that you just imagine the artifacts and stories that will narrate our next 100 years, and we look forward to being part of that at boeing. thank you all for coming out tonight. and enjoy the museum. [ applause ] >> our next speaker knows how important that first spark can be to set you on a path to great achievement. after her first air show when she was 5 and a notable visit to this museum when she was 12, her path led to the civil air patrol and onto the united states air force academy. from there, she became a respected air force officer and decorated combat pilot. by the way, she flew her combat in the f-1580 strike eagle. i should mention she also had her husband as a crew member on that.

so it was a real family affair on that one. as the first female member of the elite thunderbird demonstration team and later she was a white house fellow and executive director of joining forces, she embodies one of aviation's core lessons. from milestones to moon shots, it takes courage to attempt the things that no one has done before and unshakeable confidence to achieve your goals. she is an outstanding role model for any young person who aims high in life and she's not done yet. it's my great pleasure to introduce colonel nicole malachowski. [ applause ] >> good evening, everyone, and thank you, general dailey for those gracious, gracious words. it's always a joy to be here, sir. and it is an honor, like all of you to be standing here at this iconic aviation museum. it is a museum that embodies

everything that is great about our country, freedom, innovation, technology, creativity, and big dreams. today we're here to trumpet the significance of milestones, the 40th anniversary of this museum is a milestone. all of the milestones over time in aviation and space flight. it got me thinking about milestones like why do we celebrate them and why do we mark them as important. milestones are those events along the arc of history, big ones and small ones that in this case have transformed aviation and space flight in so many ways. oftentimes it's ways that people often remark that mankind could never even have imagined. you have heard that statement, that mankind could never even have imagined. is that really true? isn't it in fact our milestones imagination that these milestones and in our imaginations these milestones are conceived and ultimately achieved? over the past 40 years as the other speakers noted this

museums that parked imagination of countless visitors young and old alike. and it was this place that sparked my own imagination in 1986. as a young 12-year-old girl, i walked these halls, spending an entire day notebook in hand, reading every placard, inspecting every single artifact and discovering every nook and cranny that is in this building behind me. and i was doing this and i was imagining, imagining my place in this world of aviation. and that visit 30 years ago served as a launching point for my own experiences over the past 20 years wearing our nation's uniform. you see, back in 1986, there weren't a lot of women pilots in the military. and the law prohibited women from flying fighter aircraft. in fact, in elementary school, i proclaimed to my class i'm going to be a fighter pilot some day. as you can imagine the response at the time was maybe less than enthusiastic. in fact, the teacher even needled me a little bit and

said, quote, maybe you should come back to class when you have something different in mind. so demoralized i returned home, shed a little tear in front of my parents, wondering allowed in the dramatic way that a young 12-year-old girl could, why couldn't i become a fighter pilot? that summer my parents brought me here, to this museum, a place where my imagination could finally run free, unconstrained by people's expectations of me or the status quo. and this place showed me that imagination is all about embracing the art of the possible. my life was transformed here forever. i stood in awe of the wright flyer and the wright brothers legacy, charles lindbergh and the spirit of st. louis. and for the very first time in my life in a substantive way i learned about the contributions women made to aviation and space flight. amelia erhardt, jesse coleman, the list goes on.

their stories flooded my imagination with the art of the possible. then in the smallest corner of the museum i saw them, my heros to this very day, the women air force service pilots of world war ii, america's first women military aviators. so the light bulb went off in my 12-year-old head, over 40 years ago prior to my visit in 1986 those women flew. they flew in service to their country. at that moment i realized i could, too. the 12-year-old in my was catalyzed to action. my imagination was unleashed and it led to 20 years of flying the f-15e and the f-16. i'm watching this wonderful group of young folks down here in the front and i ask how many astronauts, and how many scientists and engineers, how many pilots are we going to have inspired here today, tonight in this museum. so it goes, that arc of history moves on. milestones conceived and achieved by our imagination. this museum reminds us that the

world of aviation and space flight is open to all of us. milestones are not an end to themselves. they simply set the bar higher. they show us what the art of the possible looks like. and they serve as a call to action. to all of us, to achieve those things that we can and we do conceive in our wildest dreams. and that's a wonderful lesson to humanity. and so with that, to the smithsonian steam and general dailey, sir, sir, thank you very much, my heart felt thanks for letting me be here tonight, for bringing imaginations to life, including my own, and god bless the wonderful men and women, and their flying machines. [ applause ] >> can you figure out why we had her speak here tonight? she is exactly what we're -- she was hooked here and that's

exactly what we hope happens to many of these young folks that come through the museum. but thank you all for joining us tonight to celebrate the national air and space museum. of course tonight is not about the past. it's about the future. the future of this museum and the future of exploration and discovery on earth and off of it. for 40 years we've commemorated the greatest achievements of the 20th century. now we turn our sights to shaping the 21st century and to passing the torch to the future generations. to that end i'd like to turn the helm of tonight's program over to one of the museum's youngest team members, the explainers program which is sponsored by general electric aviation, employees high school and college students to engage visitors of all ages on the scientific principles of aviation and space exploration. they open the doors to discovery for visitors from all over the world, and they're going to do that for us here tonight. here to launch the new boeing of

milestones flight hall, and to introduce the next chapter of the national air and space museum is a junior at american university majoring in physics. and her name are ae stewart. rae, come on up. [ applause ] >> thank you, general dailey. we are moments away from opening the doors and kicking off our all night at the me assume celebration. we have lots of programs and events all throughout the night and into tomorrow morning. we hope you can join us for them. tonight we gather to honor both the legacy and future of this great museum. places like the national air and space museum have the profound ability to draw out awe and wonder and plant seeds of curiosity. in my own life it was museums

like this one that ignited my love for science. i'm here in washington, d.c. to study physics and thankfully have the incredible opportunity to be an explainer here at the museum. explainers get to best see the true value of these artifacts. as we tell the stories behind the inventions, innovations and scientific discoveries within these walls we witness the past collide with the future with every smile, every wide eyed look and every moment of true understanding. so many people who have come through these doors leave touched and inspired by what they have seen. and these experiences act as seeds for further innovation and discovery. i am so proud of this museum. and i'm so blessed by the way this touched not only my own life but also the lives of millions of other people. so happy birthday national air and space museum! we are t minus 47 seconds from opening the doors and launching our new, brand-new boeing milestones of flight hall. and the explainers here are

going to open the doors and begin the all night at the museum. but before we do that, we have one last birthday message. so go ahead and take a look. >> hello, i'm expedition 48 commander jeff williams of nasa, flying 250 miles above the earth aboard the international space station. my crewmates and i wanted to take a moment to wish the smithsonian national air and space museum a happy 40th birthday. your magnificent museum has inspired millions over the past four decades in commemorating the spirit of exploration and the achievement of human flight. with that, and to start a new era for the museum, please begin your countdown for the reopening of the boeing milestones of flight hall. >> ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one -- blast off!

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♪ ♪ ♪ american history tv airs on c-span3 every weekend, telling the american story through events, interviews, and visits to historic locations. this month american history tv is in primetime to introduce you to programs you could see every weekend on c-span3. our features include lectures in

history, visit to college classrooms across the country to hear lectures by top history professors. american artifacts takes a look at the treasures at u.s. historic sights, treasures and icons. real america revealing the 20th century through archival films and newsreels. the civil war where you hear about people who shaped the civil war and reconstruction. and the presidency focuses on u.s. presidents and first ladies to learn about their politics, policies and legacies. all this month in prime time and every weekend on american history tv on c-span3. >> american history tv continues friday during this congressional recess with a look at some of our american artifacts programs. at 8:00 eastern, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell takes you on a tour through his suite in the u.s. capitol. then a look at an exhibit of african americans in congress in the 19th century. also, political cartoonist nina

alp lender and the life and work of social journalist and photographer jacob reece. coming up this weekend on american history tv on c-span3, as the national park service prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary, we'll take a look at the development of california's national and state parks. saturday night at 10:00 eastern on reel america, the 1935 u.s. interior department film the land of the giants. that documents the efforts of the civilian conservation corps and the daily life in the work camps. >> clearing dense undergrowth for fire prevention and freer growth provides number for practically any kind of construction job that may be desirable. the conservation corps boys make everything from heavy bridge timbers to park signs. >> sunday morning at 8:00, a panel of scholars examines the musical "hamilton," the history that is depicted in the musical and the relationship between academic history and the history

portrayed in popular culture. then at 10:00, on "road to the white house rewind," incumbent president bill clinton and former kansas senator bob dole face off in their first debate of the 1996 presidential campaign. >> the bottom line is we are the strongest nation in the world. we provide the leadership and we're going to have to continue to provide the leadership. but let's do it on our terms, when our interests are involved, and not when somebody blows the whistle at the united nations. >> i believe the evidence is that our deployments have been successful, in haiti, in bosnia, when we moved to kuwait to repel saddam hussein's threatened invasion of kuwait. when i sent the fleet into the taiwan straits, when we worked hard to end the north korean nuclear threat. i believe the united states is at peace tonight, in part, because of the discipline, careful, effective deployment of our military resources. at 6:00 p.m. eastern on american artifacts, we'll take a

tour of arlington house with national park service ranger matthew penrod. built by george washington's step grandson, it was the home of robert e. lee who had married into the family. >> he declared this house a federalist house. this was to represent all the beliefs and ideals of george washington, and that included, once again, the idea that this nation would exist forever and that no state had a right to leave it. so how ironic is it that that man's daughter would marry robert e. lee who became the great confederate general and perhaps the man who came closest than any other man in history to destroying the nation that was created in the american revolution. >> for our complete american history tv schedule, go to c-span.org. the smithsonian national air

and space museum in washington, d.c. celebrated its 40th anniversary july 1st. american history tv was there as the museum marked the occasion. and next we'll show you the three hours of the coverage. you'll hear from the museum's director, general jack dailey, as well as air and space historians as we tour some of the one-of-a-kind artifacts in the museum's collection. we'll also show you the museum's signature event celebrating the anniversary. >> you're looking at a live picture inside the smithsonian national air and space museum located on the national mall in washington, d.c. today, july 1st marking 40 years since president gerald ford was on hand in 1976 to dedicate this museum. since then, more than 320 million visitors have come here and to the museum's second location just outside of washington, d.c. near dulles airport. together, more than 8 million visitors come here combined,

making these two museums the most popular in the u.s. we'll be live during the next two and a half hours leading up to our coverage of the museum's 40th anniversary celebration. we'll take a look at some of the one of a kind artifacts located here and a chance for you to call in and share your comments with the curators, the people who acquire and manage the collection. in fact, here are the phone numbers if you live in the eastern or central time zones. the number to call is 202-748-8900. for those in the mountain and pacific time zones, 202-748-8901. send us a tweet at c-span history or join us on facebook at facebook.com/cspan. first we're joined by general jack dailey. he is the man in charge of this museum. you have been here 17 years. this is a big night for you. >> a very big night and one we have been looking forward to for quite a while. >> as we stand here in this iconic space, so many people have come here over the years,

320 million since it opened in 1976. give us the history, why was this designed and developed in the first place? >> the smithsonian has the largest and most diverse collection of air and space artifacts in the world. the problem, of course, is how to display them because they're quite large, most of them. the collection was put together by dr. paul garver after world war ii, where the majority of the airplanes were acquired, but there was no place to display them. we had them in the arts and industry building and we had what they called the tin shed on the mall for years. but this museum was approved in 1947 and it then became a real reality in 1976. so a long span in there, because there was actually some concern as to whether a museum that dealt with only air and space artifacts would be of interest to the public.

that concern was alleviated very quickly because we got the first million visitors within the first month of the opening. so in 10 million in the first year. so we have averaged about 9 million since then. >> president gerald ford called this a state of the art building. let's look at some of the numbers. it was built back then at cost of $41 million. you have embarked on a massive renovation campaign. let's look at the numbers according to the "washington post." $726 million for the construction and storage. this would be federal government taxpayer dollars. another $250 million in private funding. basically, close to a billion dollars to refurbish this facility. >> that's correct. a situation where we have discovered some things from an engineering standpoint as we did the analysis to get ready for the renovation that has added to essentially we're going to have to replace everything in the building. all of the air conditioning, plumbing, electricity. that was all planned, but it was

not planned to have to replace the stone on the outside, and it's been determined that it is not reusable. >> i noticed coming in, very thin stone. a lot is cracking. >> that is. that was exactly the problem. it was thinner than it should have been. people didn't know that back in those days, but it's an inch and a quarter. the national gallery across the mall with exactly the same stone is three inches in width, and theirs is all reusable. it was a low-cost alternative back in those days. >> what is going to happen this evening? what can we expect? >> we're going to open the boeing milestones of flight hall, which has been completely redone. by the way, essentially, that gallery has been here since 1976. some of this, because it contains the icons of our collection, it hasn't changed in terms of the content as much, but the displays have been completely revised in terms of the way we deal with the visitors.

>> this is not only a museum, but it's also a research facility. you have a team that is looking at artifacts, combing through the materials, what do they do? what is their mission? >> well, actually, the collection is the foundation of all of our research. and so we are the world's experts on our collection. as part of that, there are so many stories and so much inspiration that comes just from the information associated with it that we use it as the foundation for our educational programs where we try to inspire young folks to try things that they think they can't do. and when we point out the way aviation has been a series of people who didn't know what they were going to try, yet they had the determination, the persistence to stay with it. we say we commemorate, educate and inspire and if we can inspire people to want to know more and that's one of the important parts of what we're doing with our new approach to dealing with the visitors is we

want to create a relationship where we can stay in touch with them after we leave and for people who will never come here to get in touch with us and have a dialogue with us. >> a retired marine corps pilot, you spent time at nasa, you've been here 17 years. are you still as excited today as you were when you came a decade and a half ago? >> i have the best job in the world. yes, i certainly am. >> you say that with a smile. >> and i mean it. i have lots of people watching me to see when i'm going to croak so they can apply for this job. >> we had a tweet from david who says "where are the moon rocks?" >> the moon rocks, there's only one and it's in the main gallery, the milestones of flight hall and it's right adjacent to the moon lander. so -- and that was moved because it used to be next to the front door coming from the north entrance. >> give us a sense of where we're located here at the museum. >> we're in the eastern end of the museum in what's called the space race.

we call it the space hall. this has many of the u.s. and russian space artifacts that were used in the space race. we have the "apollo" soyuz right behind us, the hubble is right behind you. so these are major 22,000 pounds, by the way. so it's a -- when you think about the fact that these things were put into space, in orbit in a case -- this is not the actual hubble. our plan was to recover it and bring it back and display it here. this is the engineering backup for the hubble mission. so the -- it's kind of amazing that everything in here is either the real thing that did it or it's an authentic engineering and was going to be the backup vehicle. so spacecraft that don't come back, of course, we can't display but we do have -- they're not replicas. they were actually the engineering models that were developed at the same time as the one that's on orbit.

>> i'm going to have you turn around because i'm old enough to remember when these splashed down in the pacific ocean. what is this and how did it return to earth? >> this is the "columbia" command module piloted by general michael collins, the first director of this museum. >> and he's still alive. >> yes, and he was just here last month. the interesting thing about that is it has not been opened since 1970 and we found graffiti inside where he had written on the side of it and so had buzz aldrin and neil armstrong. but the first time it was ever recorded so he talked about it a little bit and the experiences he had. but this is from apollo 11. this is the base camp, so to speak, for the folks that went to the moon. >> what's amazing is how small it is. >> yes, for three people. >> cramped quarters. >> yes. fortunately, they weren't gone that long and two of them were out on vacation for part of the

trip. >> do you have a favorite exhibit? a favorite spot here at the museum? >> well, i do, yes. we have an airplane down in the sea/air gallery called the boeing f-4 b-4. and my father flew that exact airplane the year i was born so it has special meaning to me. >> we are inside the national air and space museum. we'll get to your phone calls. peter is joining us from california. we'll hear from you. peter, good evening. peter, are you there? we can't hear the call from peter. >> caller: hello? >> i think peter is there now. so go ahead, peter. we can hear you. >> caller: i wanted to know if the museum would introduce any articles from the nuclear rocket propulsion type thing in the 1960s and if you have anything

from some of the other programs. >> i think he's on a cell phone so we heard part of it. i think he was talking about nuclear weapons propulsions from the 1960s. >> yes, we do have launch vehicles. both the russian and the u.s. in the milestones of flight gallery. they're part of the original collection and we were provided those during the period where we were securing those launch vehicles, both russia and here. >> we have another call from steve in new york. steve, go ahead, please. >> caller: hello, general. is anybody on the other end there? >> yes, we are. we can hear you, go ahead, steve. >> caller: you know, when columbus sailed for america he didn't know it at the time but queen isabella funded his

expedition and they were looking for known treasure. a short way to the orient to get spices. and he collided with the and he collided with the american continent by accident. and we know for a certainty on the moon and mars there's not a blade of grass, there's not a glass of water, there's not a breath of fresh air. so you know, you risk life and limb to go to a better place. but we have that right here on earth. why would we want to go there? moon or mars? can someone explain that to me? >> thank you for the call. >> well, you mentioned that columbus did not go to where he thought he was going. so he was unsuccessful in his originally planned trip but look at the side benefits that came from that exploration.

and that's essentially what we're doing in space because we don't know what's there or necessarily what the benefits might be, although there are many of these planets and asteroids and other -- are rich with minerals and things that we need. and so they could be mined eventually once we get the techniques. but exploration brings with it the unexpected. but it's necessary because we'll never know what's going on in these other places unless we actually adventure to them. so, yes, that's always an argument, why do we spend this money to do that? and things like going to the moon are important because that's a stepping-off point to go to other places if we can ever get the support to do such things so exploration is part of the american spirit. >> this is an obvious question because as you look around here and see the spacesuits that the astronauts wore and you can see how the technology changed and evolved from the 1950s to the

1990s and today. what is your takeaway as you see those technological changes? >> people come in here and say what are the benefits we get from space and they're standing there with their digital phone, their digital watch, they've got a gps that got them here. we've seen tremendous progress but there's some interesting facts about this in that our moon suits, for example, were made for short term very rough wear and they're not holding up very well on the long term. so we've had to do some serious conservation on them and one of the things we had recently was a kickstarter success program where we got funding to redo not only neil armstrong's suit but also alan shepard's. >> let's talk numbers but let's get the numbers on the screen again. 202-748-8900. and 202-748-8101 for the mountain and pacific time zones. we're here with general jack

dailey inside the air and space museum, the most popular museum, part of the smithsonian in washington, d.c., busy week with the july 4th holiday. let's talk about your numbers. how many people work here? what is your operating budget? >> we have 242 part-time, what we call the explainers. colleagues and high school students who work here and are funded by general electric aviation but the important thing is we have 650 volunteers. and they really are the ones that make this place operate. it's a fantastic experience to just -- their enthusiasm and knowledge they bring to this place is the key to our success. the numbers we work on are about $32 million a year in operational costs and we raise about half of that ourselves. the half that we get from the federal government pays for the

federal employee salaries. there is no money in there for operations so any program that we have here we have to get sponsorship from the outside. >> and some of the sounds people might hear, the imax theater is right next to us. one of the changes from 1976. but if you were here in 1976 when gerald ford dedicated this museum and now here today, has it changed significantly or is it quite similar? >> it's very similar, the building hasn't changed but the -- and the artifacts haven't changed that much. there have been additions, hubble is a good example and the "columbia" capsule. but many of these galleries have been here since our open and that's one of the reasons why we're calling this transformation of the galleries where that $250 million will be raised privately. we'll use that money to transform these galleries into a new approach to telling the same story. >> the work will begin when?

it will be concluded at what point and will part of the museum stay open? >> i'd like to start with that last part. we'll stay open the entire time. that's a very important point because when we start this construction it's going to look like we're being completely demolished because of the cladding coming off the sides and so forth but we are going to stay open because people have made plans to come here for years and we don't want to disappoint them. we'll keep the major icons of the collection available so they can see it when they come in and we're under way now. we're at a 35% design on the building revitalization and it will take about six and a half years once we get into full operation. >> we're also joined by our radio listeners on c-span radio and we're talking to general jack dailey inside the national

air and space museum. we have a call from dean in arkansas. thanks for being with us, you're on c-span3's american history tv. go ahead. >> caller: how y'all doing? >> we're fine, dean, thank you. >> caller: listen, i have a commemorative coin from the tuskegee airmen. i befriended a gentleman by the name of -- i'm sorry, it's a chicago dodo chapter and i've got a picture that he sent me with a letter from him and i'm just trying to figure out where i can put it that would honor him, in some museum. >> thanks for the call and for that or anyone that has artifact what advice do you give them? >> well, of course, we are interested in any artifacts people may have but we also have a storage sensitivity because we're -- we have more than we can display. we have about -- the smithsonian has 136 million artifacts. and less than 10% of those are on display.

so that's a factor. a coin is not a major consideration in terms of space but it may be something that we already have and we don't take duplicates but in your case we do have a tuskegee airmen display here but on the 24th of september the smithsonian national museum of african-american history and culture will open and they will have -- we just hung a steerman flown by the tuskegee airmen over there in which we have been holding for them. so those are two locations you might want to consider in terms of getting maximum exposure for your coin. >> no room for a space shuttle here which is one of the reasons why you have the national air and space museum at the dulles airport. how did that come about? >> well, only 10% of our collection would fit in this

building. we had another 10% on loan around the world but 80% in storage. of course we did have the "enterprise" but that was not until the search started as to where to put the annex to this building. so when the shuttle "enterprise" was delivered to dulles, that kind of set the stage for the future for us. >> nick is joining us from california. go ahead, please. >> caller: yes, general. i have gone to the air force museum in pensacola and my favorite deal at pensacola was the two rooms where they recovered the sbd and the f-4 out of lake michigan. do you have any plans of having a display similar to that at your museum? >> we have a restoration hangar at the the center at dulles where we actually restore aircraft. right now we have flak bait, a b-26 that flew more missions than any other bomber in world war ii. but the marine corps museum just restored their sbd in our

restoration hangar. now that is on display at the marine corps museum down in quantico. so we won't be putting out a display of an aircraft needing restoration because we're ongoing restorations where people can watch the process. >> i want to go back to something you said earlier. it opened in july 1976, the first month a million visitors. at the dedication ceremony president ford called americans a willingness and even an eagerness to reach for the unknown. my question -- why are we so fascinated with flight? >> with flight or -- >> with aviation, with this museum, with space? >> i think it's exploration. it's the frontier and it still is. it's -- there's always been a -- if you look through our history, one of our new exhibits in this building is going to be called "speed" and it shows our obsession with going faster, and in all modes of transportation. if you think about the wright

flyer in 1903, maybe maximum speed of 90 or 100 knots and then 66 years later walking on the moon. >> and that's when president ford made that reference, that in the lifetime of president ford and people in that time they had seen the full span, the full arc. >> but if you think of any other occupation or industry or endeavor that has a learning and performance curve that can match that, you can't find one. it's absolutely amazing and the benefits -- look at the world travel, for example. we can fly cross country in a couple hours, where it used to take three months to start back in the old days. even took two or three days when we first started doing it by air because they flew by day and took the train at night then flew by day and took the train. so the range/speed payload and safety -- safety is really a

major portion of this entire program. >> we are going to keep you here for a few more minutes then show the audience some of the artifacts and exhibits but let me get a call from branch joining us from oregon. go ahead, branch, you're on the air. >> caller: awesome. very nice to meet you, general. my question for you is a two-part question. one, how many exhibits are actually on display, and what is your favorite exhibit? >> well, we have 22 galleries and the -- probably -- i'm not going to give you a number, but i'll say it's more than 160 actual artifacts. large artifacts. if we count the metals and patches and some other smaller things it gets into the thousands, actually. so -- i mentioned earlier we have a boeing f-4 b-4 that my father flew back in 1934. the exact airplane that we have on display so that's clearly my

favorite. >> look up there and tell me what that is. >> that's a b-1 buzz bomb. the one that was used to bomb london and other places. and, of course, the b-2 is next to it. so we're showing the evolution of rocket-powered devices and that was a pulse jet. they called it a buzz bomb because it would be on/off, on/off. they weren't very accurate. the way they controlled where they landed was how much fuel they put in them. they ran out of gas and dropped wherever they happened to be.

>> state-of-the-art back then in the 1940s? >> not only that, if you look at the development of american rocket engines they didn't deviate from this very much in our beginnings. >> you had how many missions in vietnam over the years? >> 450. >> what do you remember? >> remember? the -- well, you know, i was a professional marine and when vietnam started my duty was to go fight so it was, i consider myself fortunate to fly that many because not everybody got to stay in the squadron as long as i did. >> we have pat joining us from maryland. pat, go ahead please. >> caller: general dailey, it's a pleasure to speak with you, sir, i'm so impressed with the museum every time i visited. the wide array of exhibits, it's amazing and you cover everything. i'd like you to talk, sir, a little bit about the controversy. who was the first to fly in the aerodrome is at the annex and we see the wright flyer. i'd just like you to take a

stand. who was the first to fly? >> on the record. >> the wright brothers were the first to fly. and we'd be willing to debate that with anyone. there are other claims that have been made -- by the way, all the others that have been made we have investigated thoroughly and the evidence is not there to substantiate those claims. we have two researchers here on our staff, dr. tom crouch and dr. peter jacob. they are the world's leading authorities on the wright brothers and but they are very conscientious in trying to make sure we know the right answers. we're very careful to make sure that when we say something, we can prove it. and in this case, we can. if i could just say one other thing. >> absolutely. >> because this is kind of

important. when the wright brothers were successful over their flight, they get a patent that essentially said if you fly a manned, powered, controlled device, then you've violated our patent. well, glen curtis did that very thing very quickly after they had flown successfully. and so, they sued him. so, litigation was a very early part of aviation. and one of the things that came out of this was, the smithsonian was also competing. dr. langley, who was essentially the chief scientist of the united states, eight days prior to the wright brothers' success tried to fly his aerodrome off a house boat here in the potomac. it went directly into the water and "the press review" said it had the flying qualities of a handful of mortar. but later, after dr. langley had died, his deputy, talked to glen curtis and said, you know, if we could get this airplane to fly, then we could declare dr. langley as the father of aviation. so curtis who now had a lawsuit on him saying that would clear

him of that problem, he put 52 modifications on the airplane, including a bigger motor, which had 52 horsepower compared to the 12 horsepower the wrights used, and he bounced it down the potomac on pontoons and they said, hooray, langley's the father of aviation. well, orville was so upset that he gave his wright flier to the museum of science in london. and it was not until 1937 or so when we formally apologized and said, you're right, the wright brothers are the fathers of aviation. the war started, and so the icon of our collection spent the war in a tunnel outside of london, and we didn't get it back until after the war. so, you know, it's kind of interesting to see how some of these things have come around, but the wright flier was the first airplane to fly, and we can prove it. >> and how significant was david

mccullough's book on the wright brothers in terms of the research and identifying what they did and what they meant for america's, and the world's flight? >> well, he's a fine writer. and maybe the most important part of that is that his books are widely sold and read. and so, the word gets out to the public through that means. he did a lot of research with dr. crouch and dr. jacob and actually references them freely in his book. so yes. you know, that's one of the things about this whole place is getting the information to people to spark that interest where they want to know more. so this question is one we welcome, because if we can get -- okay, let's try to figure this out, let somebody come in and try to prove something

different on this. so, we're anxious to hear from folks. >> it's clear this still excites you after all these years. >> it really does, yes. >> let's hear from wayne, who's joining us from massachusetts with general jack dailey. >> caller: good evening, general, and semper fi from a former marine, 2nd marine, 2nd recon battalion on camp le june, north carolina, sir. >> hoo-rah. >> caller: i have a question. last year, the movie about gary powers being shot down in his u2 spy plane was a big hit with tom hanks. i understand the remains of that spy plane are still in the soviet, the former soviet union. what are the possibilities of getting that from the russians so that it can be implemented into the program there at the museum? >> wayne, thank you. >> yeah, of course, we have a u2 on display here in this building. but i'm not familiar with any efforts to recover the wreckage, but that would have been part of a state department negotiation afterwards. and of course, it was an embarrassment to the country

because we had denied that we were overflying russia at that time. so as i say, i know of no plans, and i'm not sure that -- by the way, we couldn't take it if we got it, because we don't have room for it. >> let's go to bill, our last call from new york. go ahead, bill. >> caller: hello, general dailey. thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to ask you something. my dad used to work for grummans in the '60s and was actually an engineer on the lm. do you have any artifacts from the lm, and also semper fi, general dailey. >> it's great to have all these marines on the line tonight. i'm not sure i understand the -- do we have additional artifacts from the lm? is that the question? >> exactly. >> of course, the ones that went to the moon are still there.

because the program was cut short, it was the reason why we had this equipment available to us. but this one that we have on display now is configured as identically as the one that went with "apollo 11." so, we do have other artifacts associated with lems, but everything we have on this one is installed -- in fact, this is the most complete display that we've ever had on this particular artifact. it's been on display here now for 40 years, but now an individual who was actually involved with the original configuration of the lm for "apollo 11" came in and did the work on this. so we're very pleased with this exhibit now and its authenticity. >> if you could look ahead 40 years tonight, what will this facility look like? >> well, i'll tell you one thing, it would look a lot better than it does today because it would have all new stone and all new exhibits. and they would now be starting to get a little long in the tooth, perhaps, and we'd be looking for more money to redo